Thai News

According to Thai government body the National Economic and Social Development Board, Facebook has a lot to answer for in the country.

It said that Thai teenage mothers accounted for 14% of all births in 2009 and 2010, putting Thailand top of Unicef's list of most teen pregnancies in Asia.

The research, reported by Thailand's National News Bureau, seems to tie together the fact that 18 to 24-year-olds are the largest group of Facebook users, with the suggestion that young folk post seductive messages or video clips online.

Not surprisingly, the ludicrous correlation from the NESDB has drawn the ire of local bloggers. Saksith Saiyasombut argued that Thailand's prudish attitude towards sex education might be more to blame. He revealed that recent national sex ed exam asked students: What should you do if you have a sexual urge? The answer, apparently, was call friends to go play football .

Now the auspicious moment has arrived... I would like to declare the combined joint Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 open. These words were spoken by Gen. Sakol Sajjanit, Deputy Chief of Royal Thai Defense Forces, who took part in the opening ceremony which officially began Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.

The exercise is an annual multi-national combined joint training exercise held throughout the Kingdom of Thailand. It is the United States' largest multilateral exercise in the Asia Pacific region and offers more than 20 participating countries critical training opportunities to improve interoperability in conducting multinational operations.

In its 31st iteration, Exercise Cobra Gold demonstrates multi-national commitment to allied forces in the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on regional partnership, prosperity and security commitments in the region.

Exercise Cobra Gold 2012 is taking place throughout the Kingdom of Thailand with event concluding on Feb 17.

Thai police are asking parents to lock up their daughters and not let under 18s outside after 10pm on Valentine's Day.

Police spokesman Maj-General Piya Uthayo said the national police chief was worried about youths acting 'inappropriately', taking drugs or engaging in other forms of vice on the day, hence police would be dispatched to patrol public parks, theatres, karaoke bars, night venues, dormitories, apartments and hotels. If police find anyone under 18 outside after this time, they will be brought to police stations for their parents to pick them up, he added.

Intending also to ask night-entertainment venues not to allow the under-aged to enter their premises, with the presumed risk that they could engage in sexual activity.

Police will also punish shops that sell alcohol to under-aged persons, and will set up checkpoints to stop drunk and/or reckless riders.

Moreover, they will seek the public's cooperation, especially women, who are asked not to wear racy clothe.

Thai Channel 3 soap opera fans will no longer get to see any kissing scenes.

The channel is now only allowing love scenes to feature kissing on the cheeks and foreheads, hugging and embracing.

Channel 3 is moving top more child-friendly programming and more children programs.

Channel 3 Executive Prawit Maleenont has banned kissing in soap operas and told soap producers to go the traditional Thai love scene route with only kisses on the forehead and cheek and hugging and embracing.

Production executive for Channel 3 Somrak Narongwichai says this year's soap will reflect social problems and will be more realistic in that characters will have occupations and careers.

But of course less realistic in that lovers will go round kissing each other on the forehead.

Keeping vigilant and keeping abreast of the situation

Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office has issued teh following travel advice for Thailand:

The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to media enquiries about a possible terrorist  threat in Bangkok, following a warning issued by the US government to its citizens. On 13 January they said:

The Thai Government is also aware about such a possible threat and that the authorities concerned have been in close co-ordination with each other as well as with relevant countries. In this regard, security measures have been increased as a precaution to prevent any incident that may occur. The authorities will continue to remain vigilant and monitor the situation closely

We therefore advise visitors to exercise vigilance and keep abreast of local security advice and media reports

Update: Detained

16th January 2012. Based on article from  minivannews.com

Police have found more than 4,300 kilogrammes of urea based fertiliser and other materials used for making explosives in a building in Samut Sakhon's Muang district after the arrest of a middle-east terrorist suspect, national police chief Priewpan Damapong said Monday.

More than 200 police raided a three-storey commercial building in Mahachai area after Atris Hussein, a Lebanese man carrying a Swedish passport who has suspected links to the Hezbollah militant group was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday evening. He confessed that explosive ingredients were hidden there, Pol Gen Priewpan said.

He said 4,380 kilogrammes of urea based fertiliser, 260 litres of ammonium nitrate and 400 electric fans were found on the second floor of the building. The police also discovered many pairs of slippers, A4 paper and 400 table fans on the ground floor.

The terror suspect told investigators that the terrorist group had not been planning attacks in Thailand. It just wanted to hide the components in Thailand. They were then to be concealed inside table fan boxes and shipped to other countries, according to the suspect, Pol Gen Priewpan said.

Thailand's first lady boy air stewardesses have taken part in PC Air's inaugural flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani.

The new airline took on four transgender crew last year when hiring thirty in-flight staff.

PC Air boss Peter Chan told the Daily Telegraph last year: I think these people can have many careers -- not just in the entertainment business -- and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess. I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It's evolution. I'm a pioneer and I'm sure there will be other organisations following my idea.

Thailand is considered one of the more tolerant countries towards the wide spectrum of transgenderism. Transgender women are often referred to as the third sex , or as katoeys , which is sometimes seen as a pejorative term.

The Telegraph reports that despite differently-coloured name tags, few passengers could tell the transgender stewardesses apart from the other female crew.

Comment: Interesting to note the My Way slogan for the airline. I wonder if Frank Sinatra had a ladyboy BJ in mind for the last verse of the great song:

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!

Yes, it was my way

A Thai man who spread a disaster prophecy over the internet is facing legal action by the provincial administration organisation chief, who says the prediction has damaged Tak's economy.

Thongbai Khamsi, 73, a Chanthaburi resident, had publicised claims made by his late son 37 years ago that Bhumibol Dam in Tak would burst at 10pm on Dec 31, 2011. Needless to say that the prophecy proved to be bollox.

Thongbai's son Suthas, or Pla Bu , was said to be a psychic and made his prediction not long before he died at just seven years old of a brain tumour. His father claimed the boy had predicted his own death and had also foreseen the 2004 tsunami. His vision of the Bhumibol dam break included resultant major flooding in downstream areas, including Bangkok.

The prophecy made its way on to the internet and the rumour spread rapidly.

The prediction had generated panic among locals and badly damaged the province's economy, said Songkhram Manassa, president of the Tak provincial administration organisation. He filed a complaint with the local police against Thongbai, claiming he had made a false statement and publicised it online.

A large number of visitors flocked to the dam to either take part in the New Year countdown festivities on its banks or to take photographs of the structure while it is still standing in case the prophecy comes true. Provincial authorities arranged the official countdown event at the dam as a way to prove their confidence that the prediction is false.